Best Pancakes EVER!

Short but sweet blog post today. Almost every Saturday we make pancakes for the boys. "We" as in Mike who is our at home chef -  to give him the credit he deserves. Over the years we have tasted and tested tons of pancake mixes (Bisquick, store brand, Trader Joes + many more) and combinations (blueberries, bananas, chocolate chips, etc.) and have found what we think is the perfect pancake combo!!

First and foremost Fresh & Easy's Organic Whole Wheat Pancake mix is hands down the best mix we've ever tried. Then our other little trade secret is Trader Joe's sugar+cinnamon grinder. While the pancakes are baking we grind a little cinnamon/sugar onto it. I like even more cinnamon so Mike will add xtra cinnamon (sans sugar) to mine. The pancakes are sweet enough with the sugar/cinnamon so often times I don't add any syrup - but if you have a real sweet tooth top them off with REAL maple syrup.

Try it - I think you'll like it!

Merry Kitschmas - Vintage Holiday Wreaths

Had fun making a few more kitschy Christmas wreaths! I bought the wreath bases from the 99 cent store and then hot glued vintage ornaments onto them.

Craft from the Past. Remember Shrinky Dinks?

Quinn is 10 this year and has a little posse of friends that he wanted to give gifts to this Christmas. He also loves to draw and I wanted to somehow incorporate his craftiness into his gift. I was at the thrift store and came across a new Shrinky Dink kit. Remember those from the 70s?! Quinn has this signature eyeball with bat wings that he drew a year or so ago and I thought it would make a great necklace using the shrinky dinks. So we gave it a go and he loved it so much we've made about 15 of them now. Yesterday he passed them out to his peeps at school and everybody loved them.

Sleighin' the Dragon!

I didn't have time this year to design a Christmas Card so I asked my 10 year old son if he would draw something for me. His only directive was to make sure it had a holiday theme. I am so so excited with what he came up with!! The Santa flying a dragon was entirely his own idea and I think the execution is fabulous as well! When he was done I scanned it into Photoshop - added a night sky and a Merry Christmas and just sent it off the printer. I can't wait to send these in the mail.

Breakfast of Champions. PB+H+DKB

So here's my confession -  I hate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I hated it as a kid and I still think it's super yucky. But I love peanut butter and honey sandwiches! I think a love for honey might just be genetic. My great grandfather - Hessel Tacoma - was a honey bee keeper and when I was a child, for breakfast, my mom would make me toast with our family honey and peanut butter. 

And so I have passed on one of my favorite breakfast foods to Quinn. 

And our secret to THE best PB&H (in our humble opinion) is:

1. Whipped Honey! that's a must - Trader Joes or Fresh and Easy have great whipped honey. It's just smoother, creamier and milder than regular honey.

2. TJs no sugar Peanut Butter. Cuz this kid does not need more sugar.

3. Dave's Killer Bread. It's organic, whole grain and non GMO. Plus it's packed with fiber and protein so they aren't going off to school without that energy they need. They have quite a few great varieties - but Honey Seeded Wheat was Quinn's hands down favorite. 

For more information on Dave's Killer Bread - check out the link below.

www.daveskillerbread.com 

Spooky Decor - Vintage Antique Halloween Home Decorations

Been busy getting my home decorating Etsy store ready for Halloween! Check out some of the spookalicious goodies.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ReVampSarahTacoma

Vamp up your Boudoir! Corset Lampshade

Just a quick project to spice up your bedroom with a little tight lacing.
For this project you will need - lampshade, ribbon, ruler, pencil, metal grommets and a grommet tool.
Using a ruler measure where on the lampshade you want the grommets to be and mark with a pencil. Then using the grommet tool create the holes with the tool/metal grommets. Then all you need to do is lace it up with a ribbon of your choice. Now you have a romantic lampshade perfect for your boudoir.